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Developer proposes adaptive reuse of 5700 Broadmoor after rooftop lease blocks demolition
Summary
Block Real Estate presented a revised plan to adaptively reuse the largely vacant 5700 Broadmoor office tower into about 159 apartments after discovering a long‑term rooftop cell‑tower rights sale that would make demolition costly and slow. The developer asked whether the council would consider extending the nearby TIF district to improve project feasibility.
Block Real Estate Services returned to a Mission City work session to present a revised plan for the site at 5700 Broadmoor, saying new information uncovered during due diligence makes demolition impractical and a retrofit more feasible. "That building is over 80% vacant, increasing towards 90% over the next couple of months," Will Block, vice president of development, told the council, citing vacancy and the difficulty of sustaining the property as an office building.
Block said the company found a prior sale of rooftop rights to a third party that holds long‑term claims and subleases to carriers, and that carriers are not willing to accept a simple buyout or rapid relocation. The developer described two costly options — temporary cell‑on‑wheels deployments while rebuilding, or a multi‑year, expensive site‑search and relocation of carrier equipment — and said both options would jeopardize project timing. As a result, Block showed a new concept that retains and retrofits the existing tower for multifamily use (about 159 units) and places additional buildings and a precast garage to reduce parking costs.
Aaron Mesmer, representing Block Real Estate Services, told the council the firm's options are constrained by rooftop rights and the economics of carrying a largely vacant office tower: "The only way that we could buy the building is if we plan to keep the building." He and Will Block said the adaptive‑reuse approach would create more green space, add stacked townhome‑style units on the east face, and improve garage access with three entrances.
Councilmembers pressed for details about asbestos remediation, traffic and public‑safety impacts and said they expect a traffic study and other technical reports before any incentive package is considered. The developer asked whether the council would support extending the existing TIF district to cover the Broadmoor parcel; staff said that extension and any incentive would be considered separately and that the developer remains in a due‑diligence period while the council offered preliminary support for exploring options. The developer said it would decide soon whether to proceed based on council feedback and further analysis.
